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1. Bakersfield, Calif.: Bakersfield is one of three California metro areas with the largest increases in concentrated poverty since 2010. In the last six years, the share of the metro area's poor population living in high poverty neighborhoods more than doubled from 16.1% to 32.5%, the largest increase of any U.S. metro area. Robert Hale / Flickr

2. Fresno, Calif.: The share of Fresno's extremely poor residents living in high poverty neighborhoods increased by 12.8 percentage points since 2010, the second largest increase of any metro area. As a result, the metro area's 42.2% concentrated poverty rate is the highest of any metro area in the country. Gemini2525 / Wikimedia Commons

3. Springfield, Mass.: Along with Worcester, Mass., Springfield is one of only two New England metro areas to rank among those with the fastest growing concentrated poverty rates. In Springfield, concentrated poverty climbed from 21.9% to 33.6% between 2010 and 2016. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

4. Albuquerque, N.M.:
The share of poor Albuquerque residents living in high poverty neighborhoods climbed from just 2.9% in 2010 to 10.7% in 2016, one of the largest percentage point increases of any U.S. metro area. Thinkstock

5. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.: Detroit has long been the poster child for economic decline in post-industrial America. In recent years, the metro area's economic conditions have grown only more dire. The share of Detroit residents living in poverty climbed from 14.4% in 2010 to 16.2% in 2016. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

6. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.: Since 2010, the share of poor Youngstown residents living in high poverty neighborhoods increased by 6.8 percentage points, a larger increase than in all but five other metro areas nationwide. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

7. Toledo, Ohio: The share of poor Toledo residents living in high poverty neighborhoods increased by 6.6 percentage points since 2010 to 34.0% in 2016 -- one of the highest concentrated poverty rates and one of the highest increases in its prevalence. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

8. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.: As recently as 2010, Sacramento's poverty rate of 12.5% was below the the U.S. poverty rate of 12.7% at the time. Today, an estimated 15.8% of metro area residents live in poverty, a larger share than the 14.2% of Americans nationwide. Thinkstock

9. Oklahoma City, Okla.: The poverty rate in Oklahoma City changed very little over the last six years, climbing from 14.7% to 15.0%. However, the share of the city’s poor residents living in high poverty neighborhoods increased considerably, from 7.1% to 13.2% over the same period. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: The number of high poverty neighborhoods in the Phoenix metro area increased from 53 to 81 since 2010. Today, an estimated 21.3% of metro area residents subsisting on poverty level income live in one of those poor neighborhoods, up considerably from the area's 15.3% concentrated poverty rate in 2010. Thinkstock

11. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio: The Cleveland metro area's concentrated poverty rate of 27.7% is nearly the highest in the country and up considerably from the 22.2% rate in 2010. Over the same period, the number of neighborhoods in the metro area in which at least 40% of the population lives in poverty climbed from 58 to 88. Thinkstock

12. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa: The share of poor Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area residents living in high poverty neighborhoods more than doubled over the last six years, from 4.9% to 10.4%. Over the same period, the number of high poverty neighborhoods in the metro area increased from five to nine. Thinkstock

13. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pa.: The poverty rate among black residents of the Scranton metro area is higher than in any other metro area considered. Some 44.9% of Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton's black population lives below the poverty line, up from 43.5% in 2010 and well above the 24.3% poverty rate among black Americans nationwide. Thinkstock

14. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.: The poverty rate in the Las Vegas metro area increased from 11.7% in 2010 to 15.0% in 2016. While the poverty rate increased across all racial groups, the sharpest increase was among the area's black population -- whose poverty rate increased from 19.0% in 2010 to 25.0% in 2016. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

15. Boise City, Idaho: Over the last six years, the poverty rate in the Boise metro area tracked closely with the overall U.S. poverty rate, climbing from 12.8% to 14.7%. However, the share of the poor population living in extremely poor neighborhoods increased far faster than it did on average nationwide. Thinkstock

16. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.: Concentrated poverty is expanding faster in the Little Rock metro area than in all but 15 other metro areas nationwide. As recently as 2010, 9.6% of the poor population in and around the Arkansas state capital lived in highly poor neighborhoods, below the comparable 13.2% share nationwide. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

17. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.: The concentrated poverty rate in the Indianapolis metro area climbed from 12.7% in 2010 to 17.1% in 2016 - a steeper percentage point increase than the vast majority of metro areas nationwide. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

18. Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.: Neighborhoods with at least a 40% poverty rate are considered extremely poor. In Memphis, the share of poor people living in extremely poor neighborhoods increased by 3.9 percentage points since 2010 — one of the largest increases of any metro area nationwide. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

19. Jackson, Miss.: The poverty rate in the Jackson metro area climbed since 2010 from 17.9% to 19.7%. Over the same period, poverty also became more concentrated in Mississippi's capital city. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

20. Worcester, Mass.: Since 2010, the share of the Worcester metro area's poor population living in neighborhoods where at least 40% of the population live below the poverty line increased by 3.6 percentage points to 12.0%. Thinkstock, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Between 2010 and 2016, some 30,000 Memphis-area residents went searching for pastures greener than the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

That's how many people left the area during that time.

A recent report by financial news website 24/7 Wall Street found that among 50 cities, the Memphis area had the sixth highest level of people leaving in what demographers call outmigration. The Chicago area, with 296,320 people leaving during that time, was No. 1 on the list.

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Founder Jay Martin describes My City Rides, the new nonprofit that will promote motor scooters as an affordable way for Memphians of limited means to get to work.
Tom Bailey/The Commercial Appeal

This past year, though, the nine-county Memphis metropolitan area reversed that trend, albeit slightly. Census figures showed that it added 3,067 people. But in 2016, Nashville dethroned Memphis as Tennessee's largest city — it had 660,388 residents, while Memphis had 652,717.

Yet Memphis has assets that should have people flocking to it, not fleeing from it.

Among other things, Memphis has a legacy of blues, rock 'n' roll, B.B. King, Elvis, Beale Street, and Stax Records. It also has abundant trails and parks and the Mississippi River, which is steeped in beauty and in folklore.

Memphis' relatively temperate climate and low cost of living should attract people, despite its struggles with crime and its dubious distinction of being the nation's poorest large city.

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Many Millennials are still figuring out where they want to settle down, resulting in young people moving both toward and away from several major cities across the U.S. Here are the top 15 cities where more Millennials are moving in than moving out, according to a SmartAsset study of 2016 Census Bureau migration data. Source: CNBC
15. Louisville-
Number of millennials who moved in: 12,657;
Number of millennials who moved out: 8,765;
Total population: 621,349; Median rent price: N/A DAVID GOLDMAN, AP

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That’s why some believe that to attract new residents and stem the exodus — especially of young people — Memphis must focus on its assets, while creating new opportunities that could chisel at problems like poverty and crime.

“Memphis, to me, should be more competitive when it comes to technology,” said Cynthia Daniels, who moved to Memphis in 2009. She ultimately founded Black Restaurant Week and started an event planning company.

“You have all these things in the digital space, and we’re not keeping up with other cities … that’s what you need to attract and keep young people," she said, referring to more tech jobs.

Anna Mullins, vice president of communication and strategic initiatives for New Memphis Institute, an organization that seeks to attract college-educated people to the city, agreed that Memphis must be more competitive in the digital sphere.

“We are becoming a more urban country, and Memphis is having to compete more for talent, and every city is doubling down on its efforts to attract that talent,” she said.

Also, both Mullins and Daniels said Memphis must focus on improving its infrastructure — especially its public transit system — if it is to attract and keep younger people here. Many millennials are used to places where they don't have to use cars.

Memphis isn't one of those places, because MATA is severely underfunded.

But other improvements must occur to help Memphis live up to its legacy. And some of that is already happening.

Also this year, the city pushed state lawmakers to expand eligibility for residential payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT programs, so that developers can build housing anywhere in Memphis. It's a move Mayor Jim Strickland believes can lead to revitalizing housing stock in the core city and other areas.

The city and school board's decision to boost wages to $15 an hour could set an example for private companies.

Those jobs, which pay low wages and off few if any benefits, don't do much to counteract the poverty that too many Memphians endure.

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The Memphis skyline emerges from the fog as it is burned away Wednesday morning February 8, 2017 viewed from the Big River Crossing.(Photo11: Jim Weber, The Commercial Appeal)

"We should embrace our assets, but it's also important to understand that Memphis has real problems, and we have to be clear-eyed about that," Mullins said.

And until Memphis does that, until it commits itself to confronting the structural issues that hinder it, as well as become competitive in attracting and keeping younger, more educated people, it will struggle to stop people from leaving.